Container Questions

[ChickenMomma91]

I'm hoping to do onions, garlic, and okra. Can i do any pf those in a container??? I know you can do carrots in 6"+ deep container, and I plan on starting those in a few weeks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Onions and garlic should work. I would not try okra. Okra has deep roots and the plant gets really big. It would take a really big container for the okra varieties I'm familiar with. A really big container.

 

[ChickenMomma91]

How big/deep do ya think I would need?

 

[dickiebird]

To get enough Okra for a mess to eat I would have a row of about 20' with plants about 18" apart.
BUT to really have enough you need about 6 rows like that!!!
You would need a gigantic container to grow what most people want, but you could try a couple of plants in 5 gal buckets and have several buckets.

THANX RICH

 

[Ridgerunner]

You may be able to find a patio variety of okra that would work, but with the Jade or Clemson Spineless varieties I grow I'm not sure a 5 gallon bucket of dirt would be stable in a high wind with just one or two plants. They get big and top-heavy. They have a pretty good root system too.

Rich, about a dozen plants will do me but they are pretty productive planted in the ground, at least here. I'm not sure you would get much production in a 5 gallon bucket. They may be fine or the roots may get root-bound and stunt the plant but I'm just speculating. I'm not a container gardener, do very little in containers. Hopefully someone has tried it and will chime in.

 

[ChickenMomma91]

I meant for onion and garlic >.< i forgot to specify

 

[dickiebird]

I use some old decorative planters that are maybe 18" in dia. and about the same size in depth. They are the plastic ones that have been discarded by others.
I've grown a lot of onions, leeks and garlic in my greenhouse in them.
Now when I use a container it is usually 5 gallon buckets, mainly because they're free!!!!

THANX RICH

 

[Ridgerunner]

I checked the internet. There are dwarf varieties of Okra that would work in a container.

I get free buckets at the bakery section of a local grocery. A deli is another good hunting place.

 

[Dave2000]

Oh, you can grow any okra in a container but it will be severely stunted. I do clemson spineless and have had some in a 5 gallon bucket right next to a garden area where they were in the ground. Those in the ground were much larger, produced over 3X as many pods and could go a few days between watering in the heat of summer unlike those in pots.

However it also depends on where you're located and how hot it gets this summer. Okra really need a lot of long, hot sunny days to thrive. You can do a higher # of okra in more pots with more labor or devote ground space to it - if anything is going in the ground then okra should be near the top of the list.

 

[Dave2000]

To get enough Okra for a mess to eat I would have a row of about 20' with plants about 18" apart.
BUT to really have enough you need about 6 rows like that!!!
You would need a gigantic container to grow what most people want, but you could try a couple of plants in 5 gal buckets and have several buckets.

THANX RICH

lol, do not take this seriously! 6 x 20' rows (in the ground, decent growing season) would cause a family of 6 to have okra coming out their ears, a freezer full, and still giving a lot of it away. It also means several hours a week picking it before it gets too large and developing nice shoulder muscles moving a ladder around if you don't top them.